Yesterday's Stars Still Sparkle Brightly

Antonio London and Jessie Armstead have a New Year's Day date in the Sugar Bowl as linebacking stars for Alabama and Miami.

Kenny Felder is playing professional baseball, and Terry Kirby is contemplating professional football.

Four years ago, they formed the heart and soul of the 70th annual All-Southern football team's Dixie Dozen announced by The Orlando Sentinel.

London was as devastating a college player as he was for Tullahoma (Tenn.) High School, helping to form one of the nation's strongest perimeter defenses at Alabama.

Armstead, who wears No. 1 for Miami, is perhaps the quickest of what is generally acknowledged to be the nation's fastest linebacker corps. He was a tower of high school talent for Carter High School in Dallas, a school that has produced nearly 100 college football players the past five years.

Felder was to have battled Charlie Ward for Florida State's quarterback job but instead signed a lucrative professional baseball contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. Kirby was a prime Heisman Trophy contender until he was injured seven games into the season for Virginia.

Also four years ago, three more players with NFL potential emerged:

- From Pascagoula, Miss., came a talkative defensive back named Terrell Buckley, who skipped his senior year at Florida State to play for the Green Bay Packers.

- From West Harnett in Lillington, N.C., came a giant lineman named Eric Swann, who never could make the test score to go to college but eventually wound up playing on Sundays, now with the Phoenix Cardinals.

- And from Miami High, came Darren Mickell, who enjoyed a sensational junior year with the University of Florida, ran afoul of team rules and eventually made himself available for the NFL's supplemental draft and was taken by Kansas City.

It's easy to understand why Miami, Alabama and FSU are ranked Nos. 1-3 in the national polls. Other members of the 1988 All-Southern team wearing Hurricanes garb are receivers Kevin Williams (Dallas Roosevelt) and Horace Copeland (Orlando Evans).

''I remember there were a lot of great players on that team,'' Copeland said Thursday, the night before departing for New Orleans and the Sugar Bowl. ''There was a lot of talent. I didn't know any of those guys personally, but I remember feeling I was privileged to be on that team. I've met some of them since. It was a special group that was on that team - you can see where some of them have gone, and some of them are still in college hoping to go on even further.''

Floridians fared well in college. Cory Philpot was a steady performer for Ole Miss, Richard McKenzie a starter for Penn State. Foster Paulk returns to the Florida Citrus Bowl as a defensive back for Ohio State. Also playing in the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Day will be Michael Jones and Greg Jackson of the University of Georgia.